OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sooner Athletic Conference released its 2022 women's soccer preseason poll on Tuesday evening as the Evangels were once again picked toward the top, coming in third in the votes casted by the league's head coaches.
Overall, MACU received 61 points in the poll, finishing ahead of Oklahoma City with 50 points while Wayland Baptist rounded out the top half with 49 points.
Last season's champion John Brown was picked to repeat at the top with 80 points and eight first-place votes while Science & Arts nabbed second with 74 points and two first-place votes.
Texas Wesleyan earned the No. 6 spot with 47 points followed by Central Christian with 37 and Southwestern Christian's 21 points placed them in eighth.
Rounding out the poll was Southwestern Assemblies of God with 17 points and Oklahoma Panhandle State with 14 points.
The Evangels will be looking to finish in the top four of the conference for the fourth straight year as MACU finished the 2021 campaign with a 6-3 league mark to finish in the No. 4 spot of the SAC standings. Overall, MACU wrapped up the year with an 11-9 overall mark and claimed the program's fifth NCCAA Central Region title with a 2-1 victory over Central Christian in the title tilt.
The 2022 MACU squad will provide a drastically different look from the past seasons as the Evangels return just 10 players from last year's roster while 17 newcomers will be looking to make their mark on the program.
Of the returning student-athletes, the Evangels will be looking for Daniela Paez, Kadin Stinson and Joanne Nakirya to make a big impact on the offensive end while Kanasa Spybuck will look to continue to be a strong defender in the MACU back row.
With the 17 incoming student-athletes, Mid-America Christian brings in a ton of collegiate experience with 12 players being collegiate transfers and five will be making their debuts out of the high school level.
The Evangels will play their first competitive scrimmage of the season on Aug. 13 at Oklahoma Baptist before officially kicking off the regular season with a high-profile matchup against NCAA Division I Tulsa at the Dill Soccer Field with a 7 p.m. kickoff on Aug. 18.
